services

Google is just releasing shocker after shocker today. First with the announcement that Andy Rubin is leaving Android, and now with its announcement that Google Reader (and several other of its services) will be shutting down. Google says that usage of Google Reader has been declining year after year, and that it's time to "retire" the service. Users will have until July 1st to export their Reader data via Google Takeout.

In case you missed the news, some U-Verse customers in a number of different areas around the country have been experiencing service outages since the beginning of the week. When we first told you about the problems, AT&T was being vague on what was causing them and when service would return. Today is a different story, as AT&T is saying that service is returning for many affected customers.

If you're an AT&T U-Verse customer, then there's a chance that you've been experiencing some problems with your service lately. AT&T U-Verse service has been suffering from outages in some areas of the US, with little in the way of an explanation from the company. All we know is that AT&T is working to bring U-Verse service, which includes TV, Internet, and phone, back to these affected areas.

Analyzing the way Apple customers work with their products and their store or choice this week was the NDP Group, this study revealing that 60 percent of Apple customers surveyed were more likely to come again after positive tech service. This study comes right alongside (incidentally) a supposedly "leaked" document for Apple Genius training earlier this morning that make it clear that Apple's Genius Bar is trained to make the customer happy - and of course to fix their devices, too. The NPD Group's "Tech Service Study" took on a collection of Apple product owners and found that the tech service piece of the Apple puzzle had a massive effect on their overall perception of the company.

Getaround is a company that lets you rent out your car while you'll be away for an extended period of time, but before today, the process of renting your car could end up getting a little involved. That isn't a problem anymore thanks to Getaway, a new Getaround service that allows you to speed up the rental process. No longer will you have to manage your own rental, as Getaway's team does most of the work for you.

Google released an update today for its Google Voice online calling and voice message management service that will help you better control the calls you receive. It recently integrated Google+ with the service so that you could customize the answering rules for your different Groups and Circles. Now, they are extending that customization to calls you receive from people not already in your address book and anonymous calls.

Comcast has announced that it will be making some major changes to its residential broadband service plans, namely increasing data usage caps from 250GB to 300GB per month. The company also plans to implement tiered pricing with two approaches that it will be testing over the next few months in select markets.

Google will be launching a new comparison tool for users that will make it easier to find the best deals in banking services and credit cards. The new service builds on Google's acquisition of Beat That Quote and looks to compete against sites like Money Supermarket, Compare the Market, and Go Compare. Unfortunately for comparison shoppers in the US, the service will initially be available only in the UK.

Sony will be launching a cloud photo-sharing service next week called PlayMemories Online. The service may sound familiar as it was announced back in March and Sony had also previously (two years ago) introduced a 3D photo application for the PlayStation 3 simply called PlayMemories. This time around the focus is on being able to store and share your photo memories online. Photos can be uploaded from various devices, including Android smartphones, tablets, and Sony's own PlayStation Portable and Vita handheld gaming consoles.

Google's Gmail has suffered an outage, an unusual event for the popular email service, which became inaccessible by thousands of users earlier today. Plenty of folks took to Twitter to voice their complaints, but according to Google, the outage affected less than 2 percent of its users.